The Love They Share
by terracotta rose
Summary: Aang and Toph fall in love. But what happens if she runs away after fighting with Katara because of him? Taang with hints of Zutara and vauge mentions of Sukka. I suck at summaries. ****ABANDONED BUT UP FOR ADOPTION****
1. Toph's Hurt!

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: the Last Airbender.

The small blind girl named Toph launched a rock at her student's head. The bald monk named Aang was just now learning to be an Earthbender, and was really surprised to learn that he was good at it when he finally did it.

Aang was attempting to dodge the huge boulders that his Sifu kept bending at him

"ON YOUR FEET TWINKLE TOES!" Toph screamed at him.

"But, Toph, its time for dinner!" he whined.

"Fine, you hungry, you have to bend for it." She said. Suddenly, a giant earth tent enclosed him.

_Hmmm. How about I knock it down in a thousand pieces? _He thought.

Just then, it looked as if the tent exploded.

"AHHH!" Toph shrieked. One of the pieces had trapped her underneath it.

"TOPH! Are you ok?" Aang asked, rushing over to help her. She was out cold. He knew she was alive, but hurt.

"Aang? Is that you?" she asked when she came to. They hadn't moved an inch.

"Yeah, Toph. It's me." He said quietly. A single tear sliding down his face.


	2. Healing and Jealously

Chapter 2

"How bad does it hurt and where?" a worried Katara asked Toph. Aang had carried her all the way back to camp after he saw that she was slightly coherent.

"My ankle and _bad._" She answered weakly. She hated being this weak, but her ankle _hurt._

"Toph, I hate to break it to you, but your ankle is broken and even if I heal it, you can't earthbend for a while. I want to check your progress after it's fully healed so we know if it's weaker than before." Katara said in a solemn voice. "Now tell me, how did you break it?"

"Umm… he he, Aang and I were training and he kinda blew up a rock. I sorta twisted my ankle trying to create a rock shield. I guess I twisted it a little _too _much." She replied sheepishly. Something totally unlike Toph.

_Is Toph embarrassed that she got hurt?_ Katara thought. _Well of course she is. I would be too. I don't suppose I should ask her._

"TOPH!" Aang yelled upon walking in. "You're ok!"

"Yeah Twinkle Toes," she said her voice heavily laced with sarcasm. "Pretty good. All the damage was a broken ankle, but Katara's already healed it.

"I was _so worried!_ I'm so sorry! I promise that I will never hurt you ever again!" he gushed.

Aang walked up to Toph and gathered her in his arms. She blushed and said, "I'm ok Twinkles. Stop freaking out over something that is already fixed.

Katara stood awkwardly off to the side taking in all of what just happened_. Did Toph blush? Aang never did that when he burned me! Why is she getting all the attention? He's supposed to be MY BOYFRIEND._

She stood there giving them the stink eye until Aang reluctantly released Toph.

"Katara thank you so much for healing her." He said with a relieved look.

"Not a problem." She said out loud, but in her head, she was saying, "_That floozy will not ever get close enough to get him. Now how do I get him to notice me and not her?_

_ I know. Its terribly out of character but I like it. Please review.


	3. Secrets

Chapter 3

SokkasBeard: thanks for all the wonderful reviews. They really snapped me out of a horrible case of writers block both times.

SnowXGoth: Your review actually reminded me of this story. I forgot it existed while writing another one that will probably be up soon.

On with the story

Toph and Aang were really close from then on out. They did almost everything together and were almost never apart. Toph even stopped sleeping in her earth tent to be nearer to him, and it was really starting to bug Katara.

One morning they were all by the fire at camp, Toph and Aang sitting together, with Sokka and Suki off to another, and since Zuko wasn't there, (he went off to be firelord after the war, and hardly ever visited.) she was off on her own, by the cooking pot they carried with them.

Katara looked over at Toph and Aang, giggling and talking together. _That should be me._ She thought, getting up and storming off.

"What's up with her?" Sokka asked Aang as she walked farther away, towards the stream a little bit away from the campsite.

"I don't know, but I think you need to go talk to her." Aang answered.

"I'm going into town to get some supplies." Suki said. "I'll be back by sundown."

Sokka walked off to find his sister. He found her by the stream making icicles and hurling them at a life size Toph ice sculpture. Several had already impaled the dummy.

"Katara, what's wrong?" Sokka asked from behind a tree, as not to risk getting fired upon.

"I'll tell you what's wrong!" Katara screamed, "Toph and Aang are getting all cuddle buddies when Aang's supposed to be with ME!" impaling the ice sculpture once more.

"Katara calm down! It's not like Toph is plotting against you to take him from you or anything." He reasoned.

"That's where you're dead wrong." A new voice added. Toph!

"Say what now?" Sokka and Katara said in unison.

"You heard me. I want Aang to be mine, but he's with Katara right now. He will be mine." She said menacingly, adding in a silent dare for anyone to try to stop her.

Katara stepped up to the challenge. "Oh, really? Well step up to the plate, I'm gonna pitch!" She said, hurling a giant wave at Toph.

She ran back to camp, where Aang was sitting on top of Appa, trying to meditate.

"Look what Sugar Queen did!" she said, startling Aang out of his meditation.

"Why'd she do that?" he asked, bending all the water off of her.

"I don't know! I walked up to her and Sokka to see if se calmed down, and she soaked me! Why is she being so mean to me lately?" she asked. Well it wasn't a total lie.

"It must be because she and I have drifted apart so much. It's really putting a strain on our friendship." He replied, deep in thought.

"Maybe. I heard her say something about you supposed to be with her," she said, putting her hand on his arm. "But I love you Aang. I know it's not right, but…"

She was silenced by a chaste kiss on the lips. "I love you too Toph, but we can't exactly tell her that. Me and Katara are not a couple. Even so, I don't want to hurt her. Let's keep this our secret for a while. Okay?" he said, wrapping his arms around her.

"Okay." Toph said sweetly. Thinking that this could either go uphill or downhill really fast. Technically I didn't lie to him.


	4. FIGHT!

Chapter Four

Before I start, I would like to say thanks for reviewing, and I get it if you don't review this chapter. It's HORRIBLE in my opinion, but that's probably just me over criticizing again. On with the story…

Katara got back to camp fairly quickly. Almost immediately, she got pulled away by Aang.

"Soaking Toph was so unnecessary!" he said as soon as they got out of even Toph's amazing earshot.

"She said she was gonna try to steal you from me! What else was I supposed to do?" she asked, fairly offended that he was siding with the earthbending tart.

"I wasn't officially yours to claim anyway!" he exclaimed, rather angered that she thought she had the right to claim him without his official consent.

"We kissed after Zuko's coronation; I assumed that made it official." She said, sounding like he just slapped her and then hit her with a tidal wave.

Aang couldn't stand the thought of her being hurt by something that he said, true or not. A suppressed memory tickled the edges of his mind. He concentrated on it, and it came to him. He remembered something that had happened about an hour after Zuko's coronation.

*_Flashback*_

Aang walked out on the balcony overlooking the gardens. He had slipped away to search for Toph, as she had slipped away from Zuko's party, not realizing that Katara and Zuko had done the same.

He looked down and saw the pair, on a stone bench, looking at each other. He could hear everything they were saying. "Will you still travel with us after today?" she asked him, her voice filled with an emotion that Aang couldn't associate with the two people sitting below.

"As much as I want to Katara, I can't. I have to stay here to help with the reconstruction of the Fire Nation." He said, his deep voice sounding choked.

"You could personally help the Avatar reconstruct the world, not just one nation. I'll miss you a lot Zuko. We have gotten really close, and I don't wanna lose that." She said hugging the firebender with all she had.

He gently pried her off of him, and kissed the top of her head, which Aang took as brotherly at the time. He was holding both of her hands in his, which the airbender above couldn't see. Aang left before he could hear or see any more of it, dismissing it as two friends saying farewell, and left to find Toph, who was just going for a stroll about a half mile away. He took her back to the party, and his two friends were back inside. Not noticing their secret smiles.

*_End Flashback*_

"What about Zuko? You two seemed pretty strange after his coronation. Smiling at each other when you thought nobody was looking and whatnot." He said with at slight air of sarcasticness.

"What did you hear and where did you find out about that?" she asked warily, a fact that was not wasted by the young Avatar.

"Why, do you have something you wish to hide from me? Something to be ashamed of, considering we kissed not an hour before that? You kissed him. I know it." He said,

"It was just a fling! It was over not to long before it began, and yes, we kissed but that doesn't change the way I feel about you Aang!" she said, obviously deciding whether she meant it or not.

"Not now. Leave me alone for a while. I can't deal with any of this right now, especially when you and Toph are battling over me. I will be back in one hour. Try not to kill each other." And with that, he left to go about 2 acres into the woods.

He soon found he could not concentrate well enough to meditate; finding it easier to think things over was easier. He did so while working on his firebending. He found he couldn't think without getting angry at one or both of the girls, he tried meditating again. Yet again, he was completely and utterly unsuccessful.

"_Why is all of this happening to me?"_ he screamed at the sky.

Back at camp, the girls were doing the exact opposite of what Aang requested. They were again at each others throats, and Sokka started by hiding behind a tree, leaving Suki in a tent not too far away. He thought he would be safe behind the tree, seeing nobody could bend wood. After Katara bended the water out of the tree, leaving it a very skinny compact mass of waterless wood not big enough for a mouse to hide behind, the abandoned his place, seeing as it was effectively useless, and the fight was getting out of hand. He decided he couldn't handle this all that well by himself, seeing as he had already been frozen once before, and really didn't wanna go back there again, he had to find Aang, and fast!

Aang couldn't figure out anything concerning the girls. The extremely frustrated Avatar then saw Sokka, the brave water tribe warrior, running full speed ahead, screaming, "Aang!"

"Sokka what's wrong?" he asked, slightly alarmed that at least one of the girls wasn't with him. That could only mean…

"It's Katara and Toph! They've gone completely ballistic! They are trying to kill each other as we speak!" the older boy yelled, obviously scared stiff of the two girls back at camp battling that could take him down with a simple flick of their wrists. "Suki's asleep, and they would bend me into the next century if I tried to calm them down! You're the one they're fighting over! HELP!"

"Sokka! Calm down! I'll go fix this! Stay here with Appa and Momo until I get ?" Aang said, snapping his glider open and launching into the air.

He dropped into camp to see Katara and Toph making no efforts to conceal what they were doing. "STOP!" he yelled in a deep voice that made the girls freeze where they were. A water whip fell from Katara's bending, and a boulder dropped out of the sky. Both were thinking that he was incapable of doing that wasn't he?

"What's wrong with you two?" he asked. "Why are you trying to kill each other?"

"Because," Katara said. "You're mine and this little trollop thinks she can just waltz in here, bat her eyelashes and you are hers!"

"It's Twinkle's decision anyway! You're the one that made out with Zuko and not even three hours before have kissed Aang! You're more of a floozy than I am! He wasn't even yours to claim if you did that!" Toph hissed.

"QUIET!" Aang roared. "Katara, you and Zuko did WHAT NOW? You said that it was just one kiss!" he was FURIOUS.

"I told you me and Zuko had a fling! That still doesn't affect how I feel about you!" she said, trying desperately to defend herself. "And if anyone's a floozy it's Little Miss Earthbending Tart over there! She's the one that said she fully intended to steal you! Isn't that right Toph?" she said smugly.

"Toph?" Aang said, sounding hurt. "Is that true?"

"A little." She admitted. "I said it because I didn't want Madame Fussy-Britches over there to hurt you and I wanted to scare her off!" she said hotly.

"I cannot forgive any of what both of you did yet." He said, clearly upset.

"Aang please." The two girls said in unison.

"NO. I'm going back to meditate. I will send Sokka back, and I don't know when I will be." He said coolly.

When Aang made it back to Sokka, the older water tribe warrior asked what was wrong.

"The girls, I told them that I couldn't forgive them. Katara's like my mother, and I love Toph with all I have! I told her that I was gonna keep the "us" secret for a while! How could I do that to her, and then just say that I couldn't forgive her for trying to protect me? What did I just _do?"_ he wailed.

"I don't know. Maybe you should apologize, even though you were partially right. They shouldn't have done it." Sokka reasoned, patting the young man on his back.

When they reached camp again, they found Katara and her and Aang had a conversation. "I'm sorry that I snapped at you and Toph like that, but we really can't be together. I love Toph Katara. I'm so sorry. I don't wanna hurt you, but we just cant." He said when Katara started crying and tried to kiss him. "Where's Toph?" he asked.

"Aang I'm sorry. She left. She told me to give you this." She said, giving him a scroll tied with Toph's hair ribbon. Her parents taught her how to write apparently. The scroll read:

Twinkle Toes,

I'm so sorry for everything. I hope you and Sugar Queen are happy together. I'm leaving, and by the time you read this, I'll be long gone. Don't come looking for me, but if you wanna try, I'll give you a clue. You probably will not figure it out, seeing as it was so long ago. Here it is. "You can find me where you truly first saw me."

I will always love you,

Toph Bei Fong

A feral scream ripped out of Aang's throat. "NOOOOO!"

After he calmed down, he said one thing. "I must find her."


	5. Authors Note

Authors Note,

I don't want all of ya'll to think I forgot this story, but I either need more time in the day or more reviews on it. Remember, the more reviews I get, the faster I upload. I will finish eventually, but reviews are like candy. I never forget them and love them to death. Thanks.

Terracotta rose


	6. Searching

Disclaimer: How many times do I hafta say it? IT AINT MINE!

Sorry I was gone so long guys. I am so busy this year in the 8th grade. Thanks for the reviews. I'll try to take a break from homework and editing of my middle school newsletter sooner next time.

On with the story:

"Don't worry Aang. We'll find her.", said Sokka.

"No. You guys aren't coming with me. She's mine to find. Only I know where anyhow. At least that's what she said in the note." Aang said with a determined look on his face.

By the next day, he was packed and ready to go. He knew he had to go by air, or he would be detected if he got too close to her. Better to go by air and not be discovered quickly, yet he didn't want to leave the gaang without decent transport other than their feet. He took the glider and left Appa.

_Where did I first see Toph?_ Aang thought to himself. _Well, Earth Rumble Stadium is a good idea. That's where I first saw her._ So off he went to the one place that she had truly gotten to be herself for twelve years.

Once he got there he was welcomed by a crowd of swarming fans. Women wanting to marry their daughters off to the famous Avatar, crazy fan girls, and that one person from Kyoshi Island that foams at the mouth when she sees him. Toph was nowhere even close. He watched the entire Earth Rumble, and searched the stands, carefully inspecting the crowds and stopping anyone ever remotely close to looking like Toph, but to no avail.

_Where else could I have first seen her?_ He thought. _It could be her parent's home, but she wouldn't go back there if her life depended on it. That's the entire reason she stayed with us. It wouldn't hurt to check there anyway._

He stayed a day at a nice inn that had excellent tea._ Iroh would love this. _He thought to himself. Then shaking himself off from those trivial thoughts, set off again on his glider. By the time he got to her parents house, he had already decided what to say to them.

_I'll just say that me and Toph were wandering around near here when I lost her. He's looking for her now, and that he can tell he's close. Don't be worried. He'll find her soon enough. She can take care of herself for a few days. She is the worlds greatest Earthbender after all._

He landed in her parent's yard, and knocked on the door. Toph's mother Poppy opened the door.

"To what do we owe this pleasure great Avatar?" she asked timidly, not even letting him get within a fraction of a chance to get closer inside. Having learned Toph's unique way of sight, and knowing that the house had all stone floors, he gently tapped the threshold to the door with his foot. He immediately knew that she wasn't in there. Not in the immediate area either. He decided that it was time to answer her mother.

"Nothing really. Just here to see your husband about something really fast before I go to the swamps to settle something else. May I see him?" he asked politely, trying to mask the disappointment in his voice.

"Certainly." Poppy said, opening the door enough to let him inside. He found Toph's father at his desk in his study, poring over some very official looking documents.

"Hello sir, pleasure to see you again." He said to the high ranking official, while bowing.

"Same." Said her father Lao. "Are you here for something?"

"Actually, I was coming to see if any trouble had sprouted up around here" said Aang.

"No. Things are actually rather peaceful here." Said Lao.

"Okay. Well I must be on my way. I have important business in the far corner of the Earth Kingdom. Thank you for the information." He said and was excused. The puzzled young man still didn't know where the love of his life was.

_Where else. I didn't ever tell her about the swamp did I? WAIT A SECOND! THE SWAMP! THAT'S IT!_

That's all for now folks. Please hit that little review button. It'll get lonely if you don't.


	7. Found and Lost

Chapter 7

Hey everyone. I finally decided I was going to sit down and write this chapter. Sorry for such a long wait! I had so much going on I'm not even going to try to explain everything. Thank you to the person (you know who you are) who messaged me offering advice for making this story longer. I did incorporate your idea; however, since this is set after the series, Zhao couldn't be used. He died in the season 1 finale, and I couldn't find a way to make him live. Ok nosy people of the internet, here's your chapter, I will stop my babbling.

Soon, Aang set off for the swamplands.

_I'll just check on the people of the swamp, and then go looking for Toph. I hope she's actually there and not off hiding somewhere impossible to find… What am I going to do if I can't find her? _

He pushed those plaguing thoughts on the back burner of his mind as he reached the swamp. A young man approached. "Hello Avatar Aang. My name is Lee. I was sent to meet you." Lee said cordially. "All is peaceful here."

"That's good to hear. I'm here to search for a lost companion of mine. Toph Bei Fong. I came to see if she's here." Aang replied just as politely.

"Ah! Lady Bei Fong! She just passed through here about a week ago. Come to mention it, she said she was going to the center tree." Lee mentioned.

"Thank you, sir." Aang said. He then opened his glider and sped off into the deep woods.

_** ?**_

Aang arrived shortly after setting off, for it is not a very long trip, and had a very obvious destination, considering the tree was rather large and stood out. He landed on a large root, and snapped the glider closed. Gently setting it down on two smaller roots protruding from the murky water.

_Toph is so close! I can feel it. I wonder where she is, I can't see her._

"Toph, I'm here!" He yelled.

A small pebble smacked him on the back of his head. A slow smile spread across his face, because only one person he knows does that.

"Hey Twinkle Toes! All you brought was the tiny glider? How exactly do you plan on getting both of us home on that thing?" A familiar, obnoxious voice called.

"Toph, I missed you so much!" He yelled, scooping the young girl into his arms, spinning her around a few times for good measure.

"Put. Me. Down. I missed you too and all, but now I'm actually blind" She said, gritting her teeth.

As Aang set her down, realization dawned on him. "Toph, we're on wood! How can you see?"

"When I arrived, I hadn't accounted for the fact that there isn't much solid earth here. So I figured that since plants needed minerals to survive, and so do trees, that I could bend the minerals. So, I sort of adapted Sugar Queen's technique to earthbending." Toph said, going on a mini babble session that is so unlike her.

"Okay, and as to the question of how we're getting back to camp, I don't know." He said, scratching his head.

"Well, I've always kind of wondered what it would feel like being in the air, and not being on Appa." Toph replied, pondering the pros and cons in her mind.

_** .**_

While they were flying, Toph said, "This is kind of fun! We should be able to make the entire trip in one shot, shouldn't we?"

"Yes, we are actually almost there." He replied.

They landed just outside the camp at sunset, with Toph refusing to get off Aang's back. As he carried her into the camp, they Aang saw Azula and June capture Katara and run away with her.

"Katara!" Aang screamed, a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Aang, we have another problem," Said Toph "I can't see like normal. It's almost like I've been chi-blocked, but I can still make out vague forms. I think I might be losing my earth sight."


	8. Thanks!

No, sorry, you aren't getting two chapters in one day.

This is just thanking people.

First up to xXHarryPotterWolfGirlXx on Quizilla. She made a very good point about updating. (Yeah, she kinda told me I was gonna loose viewers. ILY SAM!)

MKPearl: You messaged me, and made a good suggestion that I WILL USE. (: Oh, and don't forget the reviews! Gotta love the reviews!

GREEN-TAANG-LOVER: Thank you for the wonderful review. It helped me get motivated.

DarkS1: Thanks for the review! More motivation, that's always useful.

FictionDreamer3000: Thanks for the messages and reviews! Your point of view really helped me!

Scott V: Your review reminded me this story existed! Thanks so much, I know it's late, but I really appreciate you.

Lightning the Raptor: Thanks for the review dude.( If you are a girl I don't care what your gender is I'm calling you dude.) It really motivated me to get my butt moving on the chapter.

Nxt222: Dude, thanks for reviewing. I really love that you liked it.

Okay, this one's for all you creepy internet people like me. My cat has been reading over my shoulder the entire time I was writing this. He is now perched between me and the chair, and is licking my hair.

Bye everyone!


	9. Chapter 9

I come bearing bad news folks. I am officially abandoning this story. I don't feel as if I can bring anything to the story anymore. However, my dears, it is up for adoption. Fresh baby story up for adoption!

I only ask that you give me **_some_**credit for writing the beginning, even if you change most of it.

Bye my lovelies!


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